Table of contents

INTRODUCTION 3
I. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND REGISTRATION TO JEMS ............................................... 3
II. ACCESS AND REGISTRATION ................................................................................................... 4
III. CREATING THE EOI AND APPLYING FOR THE CALL.............................................................. 5
IV. USER MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................ 7
V. FILLING IN THE EOI ................................................................................................................... 8
C.1 Project overall objective ............................................................................................... 15

Section C.2 - Project relevance and context ..................................................................... 16

Section C.3 - Project Partnership ....................................................................................... 17

Section C.5 - Project Results ............................................................................................... 20

Section C.6 - Project Time Plan........................................................................................... 21

Section C.7 - Project Management .................................................................................... 21

VI. CHECKS AND SUBMISSION OF THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST ....................................... 22

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 1
 Foreword
The submission of the Expression of Interest (EoI) is the first step in applying for funding
within the first Call for Proposals (CfP) of the Danube Region Programme (DRP).

These guidelines present the main technical requirements and steps for filling in and
submitting an EoI for the DRP 1st Call for Proposals in the electronic monitoring system
Jems.

General information about the programme and rules such as eligibility or project
intervention logic are subject of the Applicants Manual CfP, therefore it should be
considered complementary to this guidelines when working on an application.

Restrictions or specific rules, if any, for a certain call will be explained in the Call
Announcements.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 2
 Introduction

The Application Pack consists of:

 Danube Region Programme (DRP) document (IP)

 DRP Applicants Manual

 Manual on eligibility of expenditure

 DRP 1st Call announcement

 Guidelines for filling in the EoI

Before filling in the Expression of Interest (EoI) in the electronic monitoring system Jems, it
is very important for the applicants to carefully read the DRP IP and all the documents in
the Application Pack.

The DRP Interreg Programme (IP) is the most important reference document concerning,
among others, the thematic scopes of the four Priority Areas, objectives and indicators.

The DRP Applicants Manual provides useful information and guidance regarding the main
rules, requirements and procedures to apply for funding from Danube Region Programme.

The DRP Call announcement offers specific information and requirements in relation to the
1st Call, including the deadline for submission.

The Expression of Interest (EoI) is to be submitted electronically via Jems (electronic

monitoring system of the DRP).

I. Technical requirements and registration to Jems

In order to be able to apply to the 1st call, each Lead Applicant (LA) has to register in the
Jems system. The email address used for registering will be the one of the LA. The LA can
add further users, as described in detail in section IV. of this document.

Jems is a web application and can be used with any up-to-date web browsers.
Recommended browsers are Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox. For technical
reasons, Jems only supports the latest version of these browsers. The functionality of the
system follows the common standards of web applications for entering and submitting
form data.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 3
 II. Access and registration

To use Jems, each applicant must first register by clicking on “Create a new account” on the
homepage and provide a set of credentials.

In the registration form, fill in the following information (all fields marked with “*” are
mandatory):

First name / Last name: personal information of the applicant’s contact person.

Email: the email address of the applicant – it will be used to log in and notifications will be
addressed to it.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 4
Password: password which will be used to access the Jems. The minimum length of the
password is 10 characters. It should contain at least one upper case letter, one lower case
letter and one digit.

Please also tick that you have read and accepted “The Terms of Service and privacy policy”.

The “Register” button turns active once all mandatory information is filled in. Following the
registration, a confirmation email is automatically sent to the email address provided in the
“Create new account” form.

Only after receipt of the confirmation and validation by clicking on the “Confirm Account”
button in this email, the applicant will be able to log into the platform and create an
Expression of Interest (EoI). In case you do not receive an email confirmation, please check
your spam folder and, if needed, get in touch with the DRP MA/JS (jemshelpdesk@interreg-
danube.eu) for assistance.

In case you forgot your password please click on the “Forgot password” button. By doing
this, you will receive a Reset password link to the originally provided e-mail address where
you will be able to create a new password. Finally, a confirmation e-mail is sent on the
successful password reset. In case you forgot your user name (e-mail address with which
you registered), please contact us at jemshelpdesk@interreg-danube.eu.
jemshelpdesk@interreg-europe.eu .

III. Creating the EoI and applying for the call

To create your EoI click on “Apply” of the respective call under the section “Call list” of your
dashboard.

At this point, insert the acronym of your project (which can always be modified afterwards
until the EoI is submitted) and click “Create project application”.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 5
Alternatively, it is possible to click on the call row itself under the same section “Call list” and
see the general call information through a read-only window. The “Apply” button is
displayed at the bottom of this page.

The newly created application will be visible on the Dashboard under section “My
Applications”. The project ID is automatically generated by the system.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 6
All applications created by one user are listed at this level - the user can open a project by
clicking on the name.

IV. User management

The lead applicant (LA) can grant access rights for opening the EoI to the project partners or
collaborators. In order to receive access rights a third party should register in Jems and
provide the LA with the email address of the registered user.

The access right is enabled in the „Project privileges” section:

Users can be granted either:

 read-only rights (“view”) – a user can access all the EoI sections without being in the
position of making any change

 edit rights (“edit”) – a user can modify/fill in all the EoI sections

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 7
  lead applicant rights (“manage”) – a user has both edit rights, but also access to the
management of the “Project privileges” section.

Only users with “manage” rights can submit the Expression of Interest, thus we
recommend that only the LA has the manage rights while the other users are
assigned only “edit” or “read” only rights

ATTENTION:

It is possible for different users to work at the same time on the same EoI. When working in
parallel, users have to make sure that they are not working simultaneously in the same
section or sub-section as there is the risk to overwrite information or data loss.
Consequently coordinating who is working when in the EoI is crucial for a smooth use of
Jems during the application phase.

Any data loss due to working in parallel on the same EoI is the full responsibility of the LA
and the MA/JS cannot be held liable.

V. Filling in the EoI

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview on how to fill in all applicable parts of the
EoI. Before starting filling in the EoI, please consider the following carefully:

 EoIs shall be submitted within the deadline indicated in the Call Announcement.
Applicants are advised not to submit the EoI at the very last moment as the system
may not be able to process a high number of submissions in a short time, thus

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 8
 causing delays resulting in impossibility to submit the project after deadline (Jems
automatically closes the call after the expiration of the deadline).

 In case an LA creates several versions of the same EoI and submits them only the
last version submitted before the deadline will be considered for assessment.

 Only the EoIs submitted through the Jems in accordance with these Guidelines will
be considered for assessment.

 Only EoIs written in English will be considered for assessment.

 The partnership consists of at least three financing partners from at least three
DRP participating countries of which at least one is located in a EU Member State.

 The Lead Applicant fulfils the LA eligibility requirements.

 The Lead Applicant cannot be changed between the two steps of the Call for
Proposals (i.e. first step being the expression of interest (EoI) – second the full
application form (AF).

 Projects have to contribute to at least two programme output and result

indicators to be considered eligible (unless different rules are set in a specific call).
One of these shall be Output RCO 87 - Organisations cooperating across borders,
which is mandatory for all the projects.

 At least 3 joint cooperation levels are indicated.

 The project intervention logic cannot be changed between the two steps (i.e. EoI -
AF).

 Between the two steps (i.e. EoI - AF) changes (replacement and/ or withdrawal) of
directly financed partners do not exceed 4 financing partners. There is no limit to
adding new partners.

 The maximum number of characters allowed in each text box of the EoI is
indicated by the system.

The “Project overview” page offers general information on the proposal, its application
status and the running call. Every application has a version number. When created the
project version number is set to “V.1.0” by default – the latter will remain unchanged until
the submission of your proposal. The status “Draft” changes to “Submitted” right after the
submission.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 9
Applicants can fill in the relevant sections and sub-sections listed on the left menu, which
corresponds to the EoI template.

The “trash” icon allows the LA to delete certain sections. Some sections can only be
saved, once all mandatory fields (marked with an asterisk “*”) are filled in. The order of the
project partners, specific objectives, outputs, etc. follows the one in which they were added
in the Jems. This order cannot be changed unless the related sections are deleted and
modified.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 10
Jems provides warnings or requests for confirmation before leaving certain sections of the
EoI. Always remember to save data before leaving a section of the EoI in order to avoid
losing information.

When filling in the EoI:

Follow the number of characters indicated in the different fields - characters in excess will
not be taken into account in Jems. Please note that the punctuation and spaces between
words or paragraphs are considered as characters.

Do not use the “Enter” key of your keyboard to save data while filling in the forms as it may
lead to unexpected results. Always use the commands provided by the Jems interface.

 When filling in longer sections, please regularly save in order to avoid losing data in
case of interruptions of your internet connection or any other technical issues.

 Being inactive for a long period may automatically end your session for security
reasons and unsaved data will be lost!

Section A – Project identification

Most fields in this section are self-explanatory or automatically generated.

Under “Project Identification”, Project ID will be automatically generated by Jems. Name of

the Lead Partner Organisation will be automatically filled in from part B.

The applicants shall insert the project title and acronym. Please note that effective
acronyms should be related to the project title and concept, be easily remembered and
should not be in conflict with existing brands and/or projects. The Project priority and

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 11
specific objective shall be selected from a drop-down menu as shown below:

The maximum duration of the projects is 30 months.

In the field Project Summary a concise overview shall be provided, highlighting the main
characteristics, strategic direction(s) and envisaged main achievements of the project.

Project Partner overview, Project budget overview, Project outputs and result overview
sections are automatically generated.

Section B – Project partners

Project partners can be added by entering the Partners overview section and clicking the
“Add new partner” button:

Once all information referring to the identification of the LP/PP is filled in, the Create button
can be clicked.

When opening the created partner section, in the upper part the LA can see several tabs
which have to be filled in for each partner.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 12
The first three tabs refer to the identification of the LP/PP, data related to address, contact
details, contact persons. The LA (or any registered user with edit rights) should fill in all the
requested information.

Besides selecting partner’s role (LP or PP) the following information shall be filled in:
abbreviated name of the organisation, name of the organisation in original language, name
of the organisation in English and department/division/unit (if applicable). Legal and
financial information shall also be filled in: the type of partner and the legal status of the
partner shall be selected from a drop-down menu. VAT number and information about VAT
recovery (yes, no, or partially) shall be indicated.

Address details shall be inserted in the corresponding fields. Information about NUTS codes
is included in the EoI form with direct link. In the contact tab title, first and last name of the
legal representative and title, first and last name, E-mail address and telephone number of
the contact person shall be inserted.

Tab “budget”

Please note that before starting to fill in the budget, make sure you have defined the
project duration in section “A - Project identification”, so that the correct number of
“periods” appear in the different budget tables.

ATTENTION: For the EoI purpose the LA shall include only the total budget of each
partner, without detailing the budget lines. The total budget of each partner shall be
included in the cost category external expertise and services, period 1.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 13
Tab co-financing

The co-financing source has first to be selected via a drop-down menu: “Interreg Funds” is
the only source available for DRP. The partner contribution entry (amount and percentage
columns) is automatically calculated.

The origin of the partner contribution, its type of contribution (private, public, or state) and
its amount must be filled in. In case a PP receives “state contribution” (see definition of state
contribution in the Applicants Manual) that source can be added by clicking on the “+ Add
new contribution origin”, then selecting “State contribution” from the drop-down list, as well
as entering the name of institution that is providing the state contribution for the respective
PP (field is compulsory to be filled). The total of contribution should not be higher than the
total target value stated in red by Jems.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 14
Please note, that if changes to the partner budget are done after filling in the Co-
financing section then also the the Co-financing section has to be updated.

Associated strategic partners (ASPs)

Associated startegic partners can be added by clicking “Add new associated strategic
partner” button:

Once added the applicant has to fill in the data of the ASP in terms of organisation data,
selecting the LP/PP supporting the ASP, legal representative, contact person and the role of
the ASP in the project.

Section C – Project description

The text fields in the project description should be filled in with the required information,
with special attention to the maximum number of characters.

C.1 Project overall objective

This section is self-generated based on previously inserted data in Section A. The applicants
shall define the Project main objective. It should be clearly described, highlighting how it
contributes to the achievement of the selected Programme Specific Objective. Furthermore,
there should be a clear connection between the project’s main objective, the identified
needs and challenges in the addressed area and the proposed activities.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 15
Section C.2 - Project relevance and context

Please consider that the numbering of subsections in C.2 are based on the full AF
structure and since in the EoI only three subsections are to be filled in, their
numbering are not necessarily in consecutive order

Sub-section C.2.1. What are the common territorial needs and challenge(s) that will
be tackled by the project?

Applicants are expected to outline here the main, common challenges and needs of the
addressed area in relation to the project topic. The description is expected to make clear
why these needs and challenges are relevant in the context of the programme’s objectives,
as well as the information for the target area of the project should be provided on country
level. In case pilot actions are planned for certain areas, details about the particular needs
of these areas should also be provided.

Sub-section C.2.3 Why is transnational cooperation needed to address the identified

needs and challenges?

Applicants shall describe the benefits, advantages and added value of the transnational
approach in achieving the project’s objective. The transnational dimension of the project
should be described in the light of planned activities (i.e. the project topic, the addressed
challenge having transnational territorial and/or thematic relevance, transnationally versus
locally implemented activities, transfer of knowledge and experience, joint work from which
all involved territories benefit) as well as its transnational impact (i.e. explain how project
activities and outputs will positively affect the addressed area and justifying that based on
those the impact of the project can be considered relevant on a transnational scale and not
only on a local level in different parts of the region). The applicants must demonstrate that
transnationality is present throughout the project (planning, implementation of activities,
achievement and dissemination of achieved results) and that the project arises from a
common need and it does not represent a collection of local actions.

Sub-section C.2.4 – Who will benefit from the project outputs?

Please read carefully the guidance provided for this sub-section in Jems. Please note, that in
the “specification”-field not only further details shall be provided on the exact kind and
scope of the target group but also on how the target group will be involved in and how they
will benefit from the project.

Additional target groups can be added by clicking on the -button.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 16
Section C.3 - Project Partnership

The applicants shall explain how the composition of the partnership can effectively
implement foreseen activities and deliver the planned outputs (i.e. thematic and territorial
competence, expertise and role of the partners versus project activities), includes all sectors
relevant for the project topic and covers the entire targeted geographical area (e.g. Danube
region or the specific territorial scope of the project). A brief description of the partners’
experience in cooperation projects shall be also included, if relevant. The partnership
composition should also reveal the benefits for the territories they represent.

Section C.4 – project work plan

Before defining the project work plan, please read carefully the II.7 Intervention logic
section of the Applicant’s Manual and get familiar with how to define the
intervention logic for a project proposal, as well as with the terminology of
objectives, outputs and results!

In order to edit this section please proceed as follows:

First define the number and kind of Specific Objectives by clicking on “C.4 Project Work
Plan” in the left-side menu and opening specific objectives with the “+add new specific
objective”-button on the main-screen.

For each project specific objective please give a brief title that appropriately reflects the
specific objective and define more in detail in the related text field the specific and
immediate effects of the project that can be realistically achieved within the
implementation period.

In connection to each specific objective please define also a communication objective.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 17
As a next step, click on one of the further tabs related to investments, activities and
outputs.

Tab “Investment”

To each specific objective investments can be linked, if applicable. Applicants have to

indicate the number, the title of the investment and have to justify, why this investment is
needed and have to describe the transnational relevance of it as well. Applicants shall
indicate the objective of the investment in correlation with the project objectives and the
involvement of the partners. Location and ownership of the investment shall be indicated.
Applicants shall provide a thorough justification for the investment explaining its necessity

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 18
for the implementation of the project and achievement of the project objectives, its
transnational character of transferability to at least two other participating countries, in
accordance with the Programme specific requirements.

Please note that in the DRP investments are eligible only in case they:

Follow a transnational physical or functional link over the national border (e.g. transport
corridors) which has been analysed from a transnational point of view and has a clear
impact over the national borders

or

Create a transferable practical solution through a case study in one area, which is jointly
evaluated by the project partners and transferred for testing in at least two other
participating countries

Tab ”Activities”

Open an activity by clicking the “add activity” button and edit all of the offered fields.

There is no limitation in terms of number of activities, but the applicant should propose a
manageable number of activities.

Please start editing the field “description” by indicating the activity budget in the
very first line, followed by an empty line, and only then narrative description shall be
inserted (as shown below).

The description of the activities must be clear and concise and should contain the tasks that
are going to be performed by the project partners. Applicants should avoid generic terms
(such as concepts, definitions) or too general descriptions that do not contain a

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 19
geographical and time reference. The project partners and ASPs involved should be
indicated.

Tab ”Outputs”

Create an output by clicking the “add output” button and edit all of the offered fields.

There is no limitation in terms of number of outputs.

In the drop-down menu under “Programme output indicator” please select one of the
offered indicators. Please choose the indicator to which the output is contributing to.

Projects have to contribute to at least two programme output and result indicators
to be considered eligible. One of these shall be Output RCO 87 - Organisations
cooperating across borders, which is mandatory for all the projects.

Please define for each output a title and describe in detail in the respective fields.

Section C.5 - Project Results

In this section the project results shall be defined and described in relation to the
Programme Result Indicators.

A result can be created through clicking on “Add result”. First a Programme Result Indicator
has to be selected from the drop-down menu and then further information on target values
and delivery date has to be provided (“measurement unit” and “baseline-value” are auto-
generated). The project result shall then be described more concretely in the “Result

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 20
description” field, the immediate advantages of carrying out the project, reflecting the
benefit of using the project main outputs.

Section C.6 - Project Time Plan

The project time plan is auto-generated based on the data inserted in previous sections.

Section C.7 - Project Management

Please consider that the numbering of subsections in C.7 are based on the full AF
structure and since in the EoI only two subsections are to be filled in, their
numbering is not necessarily in consecutive order

In sub-section C.7.5 “Cooperation Criteria” please select and describe relevant cooperation
criteria.

Please, note that in order to be eligible, projects must contribute to at least three out
of the four cooperation criteria “Joint development” and “Joint implementation”
being compulsory elements.

More details on Cooperation Criteria are provided in the Applicants Manual.

Under sub-section C.7.6. “Horizontal Principles” please indicate and describe the project’s
respective contributions. Before filling in this part of the application, please read carefully
the section II.4 Horizontal Principles section of the Applicants Manual defining what
information is to be provided for the different issues.

Section E.1 Project lump sums

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 21
In case a project would apply for preparation costs, which is in the DRP in a form of a lump-
sum, you shall indicate that in this section by clicking on E.1 in the left menu, then on the “+
Add” button and in the table opened up select “preparation cost” from the drop-down list.

The lump sum for preparation costs shall be added manually only in the LP’s budget
and shall not be split between partners.

VI. Checks and submission of the Expression of Interest

Before the submission of the EoI, it is to be validated by pre-submission check. The check
will provide an overview of missing data. Since results do not update automatically,
applicants need to run the check each time after changes are made to the EoI.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 22
In order to submit your application, all conditions of the pre-submission check must be met
by correcting or completing the incorrect, or missing data / field.

Please note that a successful pre-submission check is no guarantee that an

application is fully complete and formally compliant! Pre-submission checks include
verification of mandatory fields and conditions.

When all sections and fields are valid the „Submit project application” button will be
enabled and the EoI thus can be submitted.

The system does not send an automatic confirmation email about the submission.
You can check the status of your application in the “my applications” section. If the project is
submitted then in Status section “Step 1 Submitted” will be indicated.

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 23
Export function

This section allows the user to export and download the EoI (pdf file) and partner budget
tables (xls file).

st
1 Call Guidelines for filling the EoI 24